In the Dark of the Night
by MaplePucks
Summary: All of this happiness, from friends to a Kingdom and his girlfriend, is still hard for Zuko to believe he has. Every time he has gained any amount of happiness, something always comes to take it away. The thought keeps him up in the dark of the night, haunting him. Luckily he has Katara with him, to spark that small ounce of hope he may still have in him. *Zutara*


**Team** : Water Tribe

 **Round** : 2

 **Category** : Themed

 **Prompt** : (1) Speech, "That won't work at all"; (9) Action, humming.

 **Word Count** : 987

Please enjoy a lighthearted Zutara fic!

Comment, fave and enjoy!

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The palace was quiet, eerily so it seemed. Ever since Sozin's Comet three years before, things had been like that. Peaceful, quiet. It was what Zuko had always dreamed of, something he wanted and in the end had worked for. The Fire Nation was at peace. His life was at peace. For the first time, his chaos fueled life had settled into a decently normal rhythm. He had friends, he had his Kingdom, he had everything he had always wanted. Zuko sat up in his plush, velvet bed and ran his hand through his hair.

So why did the prickle of self-doubt come creeping into his mind?

Was it too much to hope for that this would last?

Sighing, he carefully got up, treading over to the water jug to poor himself a glass. It was only a mild shock when the water moved on it's own, slithering sleekly out of the decanter and into his waiting glass with a graceful flip.

"I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep, Katara." He murmured with out turning to look at her. He took a sip of the water, that she had chilled with particles of ice for him. Always a tender touch with her.

"Why are you not sleeping? Is something wrong?" He heard her shift, sitting up from the space beside him in the bed. It was no use trying to tell her a lie, she would see right through it. Zuko turned and walked over to her, sitting beside her.

"I don't know, I just have a weird feeling. Something isn't right. It's too calm. My life has never been like this, ever. I'm not sure what to do." He confided. Honestly, he expected her to laugh. Playfully shove him and reprimand him for being mopey and down. But, instead, she scooted closer and placed a tender arm around him, in a supportive one armed hug.

"You've finally stopped." She said simply, resting her head on his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow.

"Stopped?"

"Stopped running, stopped chasing something, honor or the Avatar. Stopped seeking to end a war and stopped beginning consumed with hatred and anger. It's no wonder you are not sure what to do." Katara replied. Zuko considered this for a moment, humming in thought.

"I just," He paused, taking a deep breath, "I just have the feeling, this all of this won't work. That it won't work at all, something is going to come along and take it all from me, us. Something always does when things start to go right." He said somewhat bitterly. That was the thought weighing so heavily on his mind. That he would do something to end this. Or the world. His Fire Nation. Something would come along as it inevitably does and tear his dream apart. He felt Katara kiss him very lightly on the cheek.

"We just have to hope that it does. That is all we can do, Zuko."

He looked away, "What is it with you and hope? That won't work at all. Hope doesn't see you through everything. Sometimes, you can hope a situation turns out like you want it to but it all blows up in your face. Literally sometimes." He fussed. To her credit, she took it in her sleepy stride, and didn't show an ounce of the irritation she typically would have.

"And sometimes, it pulls you through something. What about when Aang defeated your father? We planned and trained but we also had hope. Hope is the foundation of everything, Zuko. I really believe that." She reached out and touched his chest. "Don't you hope that this will work?" She asked quietly.

He raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Us." She replied simply. Zuko hummed again, a small smile twitching his lips. He pretended to give it a bit of thought. A light tease that considerably lightened the tense mood he had brought into the room. Katara always had a way of doing that, ever the peacekeeper.

"I don't hope so," He stopped for dramatic effect and when he went to open his mouth again, she covered it, looking at him with a reproachfully fond smile.

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'I know so' or some variation of that, I will go get Sokka and tell him you would love to hear all about the different types of boomerangs there are."

Zuko shook his head, laughing, "You think he doesn't already?"

Laughing had it's benefits, he felt the uneasiness leaving him, relaxing into a sleep frame of mind. Zuko crawled back over to his side of the bed, under the covers pulling Katara close to his chest. He kissed her for a long few moments before pulling away, nestling again her. She stroked his hair and all was right in the world, at least for that moment.

"I'm still new to this having hope thing," He said softly, "But I'll try to have a little more." Katara yawned, kissing his forehead in support.

"We all believe in hope. Me, Aang, Sokka, Toph. We will guide you through it. Don't worry." She said, letting her eyes close.

Zuko didn't stay up much longer after Katara went to sleep, but he did watch the moon for a little while in the sky. When put in the perspective of a hopeful lens, everything seemed so simple. So cut and dry, black and white. He knew there was much more to it, hard work and determination but as he thought about it, hope seemed to be the only thing he could really cling to and never lose. Once hope is lost, a situation is lost, because, he reasoned, you wouldn't have the will to fight on.

Once that revelation streamed through his brain, he considerably relaxed, closing his eyes as well. Sleep came easily after, lying in his quiet place with his love and friends and hope surrounding him.


End file.
